Secret Obsession

by Robin Perini

  “Nothing similar ever made it into the papers,” Lyssa added, her hand over her mouth. “God. Why would he do this?”

  “Another message. Someone else you know,” Noah bit out. “More importantly, he knows where we are.”

  “I’m tired of this. Why doesn’t he just give me an invitation to where he wants me to die?” Lyssa said, her voice rising.

  With a sharp glance at her, Noah stood, blocking her view of the body. “He wants you to figure it out. He’s courting you. And with his latest offering he’s taking you back to the past. To when he first met you.”

  “Jack’s murder. While I was working at the UN.”

  “Exactly.” Noah stroked the stubble on his chin. Retreat hadn’t worked. Confrontation would have to. “Change of plans. We go back to the past, back to when you worked for the UN. Back to where Jack died.”

  “Connecticut.” Lyssa’s face paled and she clutched at her necklace. “God, no.”

  * * *

  ANOTHER CURSE ESCAPED Rafe in the Dallas rush-hour traffic. Lyssa couldn’t blame him. The unusual cold front hadn’t shut down the Texas roads, but Southern drivers couldn’t be trusted on icy highways. Especially those in big trucks with delusions of safety.

  Lyssa peered through the strangely dim light.

  “How’s the weather?” Rafe asked.

  Noah tapped his phone. “Storm front’s moving in. We need to hurry if we’re going to beat it.”

  “Tell that to all these idiots.”

  The traffic slowed to a crawl. Lyssa couldn’t stop her leg from bouncing, her nerves on edge. Twenty-four hours and Archimedes had tracked them down. The reality had quashed the last flicker of hope surviving inside her.

  If Noah couldn’t help her, no one could. To keep her baby girl safe, no choices remained. Lyssa would have to let Archimedes find her.

  She would die.

  But her baby would have a life. That’s all that mattered anymore. Her heart ached with the truth. She’d let Jack down; she’d let herself down. Except in one way.

  Archimedes didn’t know about her daughter.

  It would stay that way.

  She would miss her little girl’s first day of school, her high school graduation, her college graduation, her wedding, but her daughter would survive. She’d be loved.

  Lyssa had picked the perfect person to be Jocelyn’s mother. Someday, it might be safe to reveal the truth. Someday...when Archimedes was dead.

  The lane to their left began to move. A man barked into his phone and drummed his fingers on his steering wheel. A woman chanced a look every few seconds in the mirror while putting on lipstick, then eyeliner. A frenzied mom wore pajamas, her unadorned face and four kids in the backseat providing its own tale.

  All normal lives. All easy to read.

  She stole a glance at Noah. His gaze burrowed into her, unflinching. He’d been watching her, his expression speculative, as if he could see right into her mind.

  Knowing she couldn’t allow him any closer—for her sake as much as for his safety—she turned away from him.

  He confused her. On so many levels.

  A snippet of memory flashed through her. She’d encountered Noah via her UN job, but barely. Once she’d started dating Jack, Noah had vanished for the most part. The few times they’d met, she hadn’t been able to pin him down. She’d said so to Jack.

  He’d chuckled. Yeah, Noah’s an enigma, all right. First day of boot camp, he shows up—the only one who’s actually got millions in the bank—and not because he inherited. He ripped through the New York Times crossword puzzle in less than a half hour, made everyone look like an idiot during class, so a couple guys thought they’d teach the ubergeek a lesson. I stepped forward, figured he’d need a hand. Noah had them on the ground in seconds. He didn’t need me. Didn’t need anyone, really. Jack had kissed her palm. Noah’s the best there is, but he likes to work alone. He’s too smart, too good at what he does. I can’t think of one weakness in him, except he can’t stop trying to prove himself. It’s like he’s fighting demons that don’t exist.

  She saw the truth of Jack’s words now. And they scared her. Noah wouldn’t stop until he succeeded. Or Archimedes killed him. Noah would never let her fight the battle on her own.

  Lyssa would have to find a way.

  “Archimedes located us too fast,” Rafe commented. He expertly darted into the right lane toward the exit leading to Lancaster Regional Airport. “CTC owns the safe house. Has he made the connection?”

  “We’re either being traced,” Noah said, “or he’s tunneled through Zane’s system at CTC. Take your pick.”

  The man in the front seat grumbled. “I swept the place for tracking and listening devices. And CTC is locked up tight. I don’t get it.”

  “Beef up the tracking receiver—”

  Noah didn’t have time to finish the order before Zane held up a screwdriver. “I’m on it. This guy is pissing me off.”

  “I want the plane and everything on it scanned before we take off,” Noah said, his voice curt. His fingers clutched his Glock.

  The weight of her .45 in its holster didn’t relax her one bit. Lyssa had the unbearable feeling Archimedes could jump out of anywhere at any moment.

  “The guy’s big on symbolism,” Rafe said, his voice wondering. “All these weird icons...plus Frederick.”

  “Frederick was obvious.” Noah’s hand tightened on the butt of the gun. “He gave Lyssa the opportunity to speak, and his throat was cut—”

  “My translator job. Archimedes shut him up.” Lyssa wrapped her arms around her body, a chill from the inside taking over. “Why now? I haven’t been back to the UN since the night Jack was killed.”

  “A warning to those who help you perhaps,” Noah speculated. “And much more straightforward than whatever those two symbols represent.”

  Noah, Rafe, Zane and Elijah were helping her. She’d made everything worse. Now the only way out was to somehow beat Archimedes at his game. To decipher his message. The designs meant something, but she had no idea what. She rolled the images through her mind. The spiral; the bar and circles.

  “Something to do with math or engineering?” Lyssa asked.

  “I see where you’re going. He probably likes being called Archimedes after the Greek mathematician and engineer,” Noah said as he searched the surrounding vehicles, not even meeting her gaze. “Neither symbols are used in math or electrical engineering. The original Archimedes determined the value of pi. That’s related to the golden spiral, but it’s a stretch.”

  Lyssa stared over at him, dumbstruck.

  Rafe crossed the lanes of traffic quickly. “Noah’s sort of like a human computer of useless math trivia. Good thing he has other, more worthwhile talents.”

  “Just drive.” Noah peered out the back of the SUV.

  Lyssa recognized Noah’s tension. She understood. They had no solid leads; Archimedes had found them. He was winning.

  No one said a word the rest of the drive until finally Rafe pulled into the private airport. He honked the horn three times.

  At the signal, a large door to one of the hangars slid open. A pushback tug exited the building, pulling the Lear slowly into the daylight.

  “We should be able to take her up soon,” Noah said.

  The two vehicles rolled out onto the tarmac then stopped.

  Noah exited the car, his gun at the ready. Rafe and Zane peered around the deserted airport.

  Nobody else would have dared come out with the weather worsening.

  Lyssa slid from her seat. Tension knotted the base of her neck.

  Everything looked normal, if not eerily desolate.

  Noah opened the rear of the SUV. “Let’s—”

  An explosion erupted from the belly of the plane. Flames soa
red into the sky, engulfing the Lear in fire. Shrapnel flew in every direction.

  Noah leaped at Lyssa, shoved her to the ground and rolled her under the SUV. Her body pounded into the asphalt, scraping her palms and side.

  Fiery debris flew at them. She ducked her head down as metal pelted the car.

  “Stay here,” Noah shouted at Zane.

  The man nodded and positioned himself between Lyssa and the plane.

  She gazed at the hellfire that had erupted. Mini explosions sent more burning metal soaring at them. Several pieces bounced off the tarmac, and one hit Lyssa in the arm. She slapped it away, and Zane doused the licks of fire that took hold of her wool coat.

  Rafe and Noah raced toward the tug. Just as they reached it, a ball of fire barreled near the gas tank. The back end erupted into flames.

  Black smoke billowed into the sky, and Lyssa squinted through the blaze. The man inside the tug had slumped over the steering wheel, unconscious. “The driver!” she shouted.

  Noah yanked at the door, but it didn’t budge. Rafe rounded the vehicle to try the other side, but that one wouldn’t open either. Frantically, Noah looked around. He grabbed a metal rod and slammed it through the glass. It shattered. Noah reached inside.

  He didn’t see the fire that swept toward him.

  “Noah, look out!” Lyssa screamed.

  They didn’t hesitate. Noah shoved his shoulders through the hole in the glass and yanked the driver through. Rafe climbed up beside Noah. Together they dragged the man from the truck, falling back onto the tarmac.

  Sparks erupted.

  “Cover your head,” Zane yelled.

  Lyssa buried her head in her arms just as another explosion hit.

  Noah and Rafe fell to their knees, the driver between them.

  Sirens closed in on them. The driver rolled to his back and propped himself up. “What happened?” he asked, coughing. He held his bleeding head then looked up at the burning plane. “Oh, man, did I do that?”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Lyssa said from beneath the SUV. “It was mine.”

  Noah wiped the soot from his face. “No, it wasn’t. We know who’s to blame, don’t we?” He turned to the driver. “Did you see anyone around the plane, anyone unusual around the tarmac today?”

  The guy shook his head and doubled over into another fit of coughing. “It’s been dead with the ice storm heading this way. Just some inspector.”

  Lyssa caught the expression Noah shot at Rafe. “Archimedes?” she asked.

  “I’m on it.” Rafe said, rising to his feet, heading for the hangar.

  Fire engines screamed to a stop, and firefighters tugged their hoses out to douse the blaze. Noah knelt beside the SUV. “Stay there,” he said to her. “Too many people around. I don’t want you seen.”

  Unwilling to argue, she hunkered down. “I’m sorry about your plane.”

  He crouched beside the SUV, gun in his hand. “Like I said, not your fault.” He tilted his head and squinted. “What the—? Zane, see that white paint next to the plane. Can you make it out?”

  Lyssa’s breath hung in her throat. “What is it?”

  Without answering, Noah rose slightly. He scanned the area, and Lyssa couldn’t stop the shiver from skittering through her body. Noah’s gaze narrowed, his expression deadly.

  Above Lyssa, the SUV creaked as Zane climbed to the roof.

  “Well?” Noah asked.

  Lyssa couldn’t see anything from her hiding place.

  “Another message.” Zane pulled out his weapon.

  “Infinity?” Noah asked.

  “No. This time it’s an epsilon.”

  * * *

  ARCHIMEDES HAD TO admit Noah Bradford had good taste in planes. He gripped the arm of the luxurious seat of the Lear. So similar to Noah’s custom-built plane. The plane that now burned to nothingness.

  The immaculate interior couldn’t be faulted. Not an item out of place. He should purchase a chair made of the supple leather.

  He pressed the microfiber cloth against the screen of his tablet, removing the thumbprint, then typed in the web address he used to route his cameras.

  Chaos ruled the screen.

  Fire, flashing lights, shouts.

  With a flick of his finger he adjusted the camera’s angle. The lens zeroed in on Noah Bradford. The man stood staring at the latest message.

  Where was Alessandra?

  He panned once again.

  Just two of the men Archimedes hadn’t been able to identify. Yet.

  Then he noted a small figure underneath the SUV. He zoomed in.

  There she was.

  He couldn’t see her face.

  Archimedes gripped the tablet tight. He wanted to witness that flash of comprehension. She had to understand his message. Once she deciphered the symbols, she’d know the truth—that they were meant to be. That he was the only one who understood how intelligent, how perfect, she really was.

  A figure blocked her from view.

  Noah Bradford had crouched down, staring directly into the camera. Within seconds the signal ceased.

  “He’s smart. Too smart, maybe.”

  Archimedes drummed his fingers then punched the intercom. “Change of destination. Take me to Denver, Colorado.” He lifted his finger. “I have a message to deliver. Personally.”

  * * *

  STRIPS OF SLEET pounded the airport, washing away any evidence—not that Noah believed Archimedes had tipped his hand.

  With Rafe doing another perimeter check and Zane checking the camera they’d spotted, Noah refused to leave Lyssa. She sat in the SUV, huddled in her threadbare coat. He needed to get her another. The temperature had fallen to match that of Chicago.

  “No doubt he’s watching and laughing,” Noah muttered, lifting the hood of his jacket to keep the ice from his face.

  Zane walked over to him, a small camera in his latex-covered hand. Noah recognized the signature build all too well. “Archimedes.”

  Rafe came up behind Zane. “We’re clear.”

  “Yeah, well, every time we think that,” Noah said, “the guy makes his presence known again.”

  “He used C-4 on the plane in several locations,” Rafe said. “Detonators were something I’ve never seen before. Neither had the bomb squad.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Noah pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling for new transportation. And this time it won’t be tied to me.”

  He dialed a number.

  Immediately, Ransom Grainger picked up. “I heard about the explosion. What do you need?”

  Noah shouldn’t have been surprised. “The guy knows where we are. He’s one step ahead of us.”

  “You’ve checked for tracking devices?”

  “Of course. But this guy has some serious technical skills. Even Zane is impressed.”

  Ransom whistled. “Okay. I’ll send a plane to you. Why not bring Lyssa here?”

  “He doesn’t know about CTC and I want to keep it that way.” Noah lowered his voice. “I can’t risk anyone there.”

  “What do you want to do?” Ransom asked.

  “I’ll send you his latest puzzle. Three symbols. We’re not sure what they mean, but the last body he delivered—that was a man from Lyssa’s past. Archimedes wants us to go to Connecticut. Back where it all started. I don’t have any other options.”

  Tapping fingers sounded through the phone. “Jack’s home is still empty. With this economy, it’s stayed on the market.”

  “I know.” A curse erupted from him. “Damn it, we’re playing right into his hands.”

  Ransom didn’t speak for a moment. “I’ve never heard your emotions get the better of you, Falcon. What’s going on?”

  Noah si
ghed and cast a glance at Lyssa then with a signal to Rafe to watch her, walked just inside the hangar, out of sight. “Jack and I were scheduled to go on one last job before he retired. Jack refused and our commanding officer requested me to convince him. He thought we needed Jack’s skills.”

  “You didn’t call?”

  “Oh, I called all right...instead of showing up at his door like I should have. Jack asked me to come by the next day. He could charm a caffeine addict into giving up his morning coffee.”

  “It was that night, wasn’t it?” Ransom said.

  “Yeah,” Noah said. “I was supposed to have been at Jack’s place the night Archimedes killed him,” he said finally. “If I’d been there, Jack might still be alive.”

  A gasp sounded behind him. Noah whirled around. Lyssa’s stunned expression twisted his heart.

  “Lyssa—”

  She backed away from him, shaking her head. “No. Just...I can’t believe this.”

  “Get me that plane,” Noah said and ended the call.

  He stuffed the phone into his pocket. Lyssa turned and rushed into the sleet. The cold ice soaked her hair. Noah grabbed her and pulled her back into the hangar. He pushed her bangs away from her face. “Lyssa, I...”

  She looked up into his eyes, the emerald depths filled with pain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “What was I supposed to say?” He’d been dreading this moment for two years. For two years he’d lived with the regret.

  “If you’d been there...” Her voice cracked.

  “I could have saved him.”

  Lyssa’s knees gave way. Noah propped her up against him. She struggled to breathe. “You and Jack could have taken him. None of this would be happening. I’d have—”

  “You’d have your life back,” Noah finished, a whisper in her ear. “You’d have Jack. I wish I’d been there for you,” he said. “Jack and I, we would have stopped him.”

  She clutched the collar of his coat. “That’s why you’re really helping me, isn’t it? Not because you and Jack were best friends, but because you were supposed to be there that night.”

  “Partly,” Noah said. “I owe Jack my life. You know that.” He tilted her chin up to search her eyes. “But make no mistake, Lyssa, I’m here for you.”